The 19th century brought technological change and impressive engineering feats. It also brought a new class of wealthy industrialists who competed fiercely for unusual and exotic plants for their gardens and greenhouses.

It was their money that funded the intrepid plant hunters who returned from the East with new species beyond the wildest dreams of gardeners of the day. Until then, the rhododendron had attracted little interest in the West, but each expedition brought a range of new colours, forms and fragrances, paving the way for the thousands of hybrids that include some of the most spectacular flowers and superb foliage known to horticulture today.

The splendour of these impressive plants belies the fact that they can be remarkably easy to grow and maintain.